After a lacklustre term Leopold had been glad for the summer but home failed to provide the solace he had been seeking. He had spent the first week off school suffering constant bombardment. It was made known to Leopold that Abigail was unimpressed with his ‘attitude’. Leopold wasn’t aware he had an attitude but he’d spent a lot of time apologising for it all the same. His mom’s particular concern lay with Leo’s school work and the continuous slipping of his grades. He’d become just another teenager fighting the trenches of puberty under the scrutiny of unsympathetic parents. The only defence he’d managed to master so far was the eye-roll accompanied with the odd snide remark.

When he wasn’t dodging criticism from his mom and Jeb, Leopold was trying to shake off his siblings. There wasn’t anything more uncool than having three kids under ten clinging to your elbows and shrieking for no reason other than they enjoyed creating high-pitched noises. Despite being the eldest, Eugene had proved to be the greatest muttonhead amongst them. He’d begun showing signs of magic a few years ago and now with only a year until he’d be joining Leo at RMI, destroying whatever remnants of a life his older brother had, Eugene was ablaze with questions. He didn't even relent when Leopold told him about a troll living underneath the quidditch pitch who ventured out once a month to hunt his favourite dish; bratty little boys. Leopold knew he wasn’t going to miss the cause of his month long headache however he would miss the lads.

He’d hung out with a new crowd this summer, their company had been especially appealing because he knew Abigail disapproved. Leopold felt her judgment was unfounded, they were just a bit scruffy (not unlike Leo) and mostly stood around street corners discussing the shortcomings of society. If he was honest with himself it was a bit boring but it had still felt nice to have some people to let off some steam with- people who weren’t related to you. Like many teens Leopold found family to be a suffocating institution.

Even as he was preparing to leave for the opening feast his mom was trying to pat down his hair and scrub a stubborn spaghetti sauce stain out of his t-shirt with nothing more than a spit covered tissue. He’d hastened to shrug her off, quickly grabbing a hair tie and pulling back his overgrown locks to placate her, his parting words reminding her to, “get a life, would you!”

Now as he sat at the Lyra bonfire brushing clumps of confetti off his shoulders he began to feel the beginnings of remorse. Leopold knew he could be a bit unfair to his mom sometimes. She was probably right- he needed to step up. Perhaps he’d try harder this year but he didn’t want to think about that right now. He was eager to find a distraction from thoughts of repentance and so created one. Leo bent over scooped up a fistful of confetti, cupped his hands beneath his mouth, blew it in the direction of the person sitting next to him and grinned.

Kit was so excited she couldn’t even think straight ! She’d spent most of the day putting things in her trunk and pulling them out again and putting more things in her trunk and then pulling those... more

Breathe. In. Out. In. Out. Magdalena was panicking. Standing in the finer diner she found herself rooted to the spot, legs stiff and arms flopping uselessly by her side. She wasn’t ready! She hadn’t... more

It was an unusual turn of events for Rose to be annoying Danny - the reverse had been true for five years, he was sure - but he had to concede that her creativity with cute and infuriating nicknames... more

It was very rare for Kaye Packman to be self-conscious about how she looked. The fifth year always looked amazing, and she knew it. Her fashion sense was still as badass as ever. She even had the... more

He paused in reaching for a bowl of paella because a voice had answered his hypothetical query, and that voice didn't belong to a student in Lyra. It was also coming from somewhere above him. Sure... more

Kaye looked off to the side where Danny’s outstretched arm reached. She finished off her raspberry tartlet and pondered, briefly, before snatching a bowl of whatever the dish was as the elf walked... more

Did it surprise Danny that Kaye was eating the food he had just missed out on? Of course not. The younger girl didn't seem to be particularly gifted at making friends since her arrival at RMI; even... more

“Like you know me at all.” Kaye rolled her blue eyes and considered putting the eggroll back on Danny’s plate. Honey, I know you well enough, until you prove otherwise. She picked up the eggroll,... more

Kaye rolled her eyes and placed the food next to him anyway. She only wanted the eggroll. “Suit yourself,” she shrugged before taking another bite. Her dads had always been impressed by the fact that ... more

After he gave her a proper answer, Danny felt momentarily deflated that she didn't even have the good grace to acknowledge it. He hadn't expected a well rounded critique with helpful feedback, but... more

Holland Keene always did an exciting new hair color for the opening feast, and the start of their sixth year at RMI was no exception. This year they were sporting a navy-to-silver ombre look that... more

At last. Success. Portkey travel still made him feel like he’d been spinning around in circles, but this year, Emmett made personal history. Landing in the Finer Diner with just a little stumbling,... more

“‘Dessert first’ is a core part of the gay agenda,” Holland agreed. If their hands weren’t full of cupcake, they would have hugged Emmett. They had visited him a few weeks ago, but they’d still... more

“I’m more excited about the chocolate, honestly,” Emmett chuckled, “but thanks.” He supposed he wasn’t really surprised to be Prefect given that he was literally the only person in his House and... more

Having finished their cupcake, Holland accepted a cup of rooibos tea and a chocolate-almond biscotti from a house elf. At some point tonight they would probably want to eat something that had some... more

Gender and biscotti weren’t two things Emmett thought about together frequently. He thought about them both separately with decent regularity, the former because of Holland the latter because he was... more

Hunter practically jogged through the diner doors and over to the Lyra fire. Not intentionally or anything, he just tended to walk quickly when he was excited, and he was very excited. On his rapid... more

When Sonia first approached Rhiya about the confetti concept, the fourth-year assumed she was joking. As she realized that the idea was in fact something her mom was going to pursue, she brushed it... more

It was the end of summer. This was always a little tiny bit sad for Marley, because it still felt a little tiny bit weird being away from both of her parents for so much of the year. She wasn’t sad... more

Satveer’s eyes bounced and his head nodded as his followed Marley’s welcome. She’s a talker! Satveer couldn’t help but think that if the bouncy red headed girl was in this house, and Marley, another... more

Nodding confidently, a little cloud of glitter fell out of her curly afro and sprinkled across her plate. “Oh, it’ll come back soon,” Marley reassured the younger boy. “The house-elves know that... more

Having just watched Marley unknowingly eat a piece of confetti, Satveer wrestled with his self as to whether he should tell her or not. “You just” Satveer started realising he’d have to continue... more

“Oh, really?” Glancing down, Marley saw that indeed there was confetti all over her pizza. She swiped at it with her hands, brushing off some of the glittery green bits, but didn’t bother to clean it ... more

Clearly Marley wasn’t as in to muggle geek culture, or maybe she had missed the reference. Either way, Satveer’s attempt at a common interest connection was shot down. “We did drive” Satveer retorted ... more